Release tensions held in your body through meditation
As we have been pursuing study of mindfulness we have been focusing a lot on the breath. If you are reading this article you have already mastered how to breathe and are familiar with mindfulness. You should also have learned how to maintain focus on the moment as well as how to bring yourself back when you have lost yourself in thought. Providing you have completed all of these things, you are now ready to start body scanning! We have touched on body scanning briefly in the previous lessons when you were instructed to pass your thoughts by each part of your body allowing the tension to release. Body scanning is very similar only we are starting to get a little more complicated in how we are using it.
Since one of our goals is to learn where in the body we are holding stress and emotion and how these emotions are affecting our mood and body, a body scan is important for us to learn how to do so we can start identifying where and how we hold tension. Many times we are not even aware of how we hold tension or even how we might be babying one part of our body due to a minute injury or even just exhaustion. An untrained eye can not see it but a chiropractor or gyrotonics instructor can almost immediately identify places of tension. Sometimes I don't even know I am raising my shoulders until someone pushes them down for me or I practice some meditation and feel how much my shoulders drop when I focus on releasing tension. That being said, it is obviously very important to learn how your body is holding and reacting to emotion.
To begin today's lesson we will start with our full breaths in and out. Focus on filling your belly soft with air and letting out the used up air. Feel your body being enriched by the oxygen, bring awareness to how your chest and belly rise and fall with your breaths. Work your way up from your toes to your head releasing any tensions. Let your knees and hips relax, unclench toes and fingers let the back stretch. Feel the unwinding of tension in the neck as the shoulders drop and feel your jaw and cheeks loosen and fall relaxed. Give yourself several more breaths in this relaxed state and feel this moment of life around you. Feel what a gift it is to be alive at this moment and healthy in your peaceful state. If your mind starts to drift, acknowledge the drifting and bring yourself back to the moment, forgiving yourself as you know it is only natural to drift.
Now we are ready to start the body scan. Starting at the top of your head focus on the sensation you feel in your scalp. Can you feel the blood circulating, the tingling of oxygen being delivered to your cells? Maybe you feel the heat or cold from the weather. You may even acknowledge pain, a headache, don't focus on why that is there as of yet but acknowledge the pain. Come down to your eyes, are they open or closed? What are you seeing? How do they feel? Are your eyes dry or wet, tired or energized? Feel the muscles work as you look side to side, up and down. Now bring your attention to your ears, are they humming or buzzing, are there noises around you? Do your ears feel hot or cold? Bring awareness to all these places as you move back to the center of your face to your nose. Breathe in and out through your nostrils, feeling them flare and retract. Experience the temperature of the air in your nose and note any physical sensations you have as you bring attention to your mouth and how your tongue is sitting in it. Feel your teeth and their edges, taste your saliva as you swallow. Feel how your jaw reacts to your swallows and breaths. Let your whole head buzz with awareness.
Now move down to your trunk. Feel your neck, your shoulders, listen to your heart beat and push blood through your body. Listen to your breath and observe your torso rise and fall, rise and fall. Now bring the focus to your right arm and then your left. Feel the weight of your arm as it hangs from your sockets and feel the gentle pressure on your arms or wrists as they sit calmly. Feel your fingers open and your palm rotate to the sky. Feel the connection of your arms to your shoulders to your neck and your head. Feel how your breath unites them all. The tension in your shoulders affects your neck and arms and head, acknowledging the connection. Acknowledge the moment.
Move down to the legs and hips and feel their place. Move your legs if they have started to go numb and experience the tingling as the blood returns to the legs. Wiggle your toes and move your feet feeling how the blood wakes up and moves back up the leg. Acknowledge any pain in your knees or hips. Travel up the spine and feel your back. Scan for any pain or discomfort and try to inhale and exhale deeply to release pockets of tension in the back. Back pain can also stem from hips and knees so travel back down to them and scan them for tension. Let your knees straighten but not lock. Let your hips become square, tucking your pelvis forward slightly and feel the release in your lower back. Move back down to the toes and pump your toes feeling the blood work its way up. Release the discomfort in the knees and hips and feel your back relax. Release the tension in the shoulders and feel your neck and arms relax. Bring awareness back up to the head, tingling with sensation and contemplate the interconnections of your body. If your mind wanders here just gently bring it back. You are whole and you are here at this moment in time. You will never be here exactly as you are again. Cherish and live in this moment. When you are ready, end your meditation and continue with your day.
Have you ever scanned your body for sensations before? Where did you notice pain in your body and do you think you may already know the reasons for it? Reach out to us with any questions or comments at info@bullionite.com